Prospect Info: 2017 HF Devils Top 20 Prospect Rankings: #20

[Zippy316]

[table="head;width=4000]Rank|Player|POS|Draft Position|2016-17 Team(s)|Vote %|2016 Result|2015 Result
#1|Nico Hischier|C|2017 #1|Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)|---|Pavel Zacha|Pavel Zacha
#2|Michael McLeod|C|2016 #12|Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)|82.02%|Michael McLeod|Steven Santini
#3|Steve Santini|D|2013 #42|Albany Devils (AHL)/New Jersey Devils (NHL)|71.26%|Steven Santini|John Quenneville
#4|John Quenneville|W|2014 #30|Albany Devils (AHL)/New Jersey Devils (NHL)|68.18%|John Quenneville|Reid Boucher
#5|Blake Speers|RW|2015 #67|Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)|33.3%|Mackenzie Blackwood|Stefan Matteau
#6|Yegor Rykov|D|2016 #132|SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)|22%|Joseph Blandisi|MacKenzie Blackwood
#T-7|MacKenzie Blackwood|G|2015 #38|Albany Devils (AHL)|30.61%|Miles Wood|Blake Coleman
#T-7|Jesper Boqvist|C|2017 #36|Brynas IF (SHL)|30.61%|Josh Jacobs|Josh Jacobs
#9|Joey Anderson|RW|2016 #73|University of Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC)|50.63|Blake Speers|Blake Speers
#10|Miles Wood|LW|2013 #100|Albany Devils (AHL)/New Jersey Devils (NHL)|56.16%|Nathan Bastian|Joseph Blandisi
#11|Mirco Mueller|D|2013 #18|San Jose Barracuda (AHL)|41.56%|Nick Lappin|Raman Hrabrenka|
#12|Nikita Popugayev|RW|2017 #98|M. Jaw Warriors/P. George Cougars (WHL)|37.66%|Mikhail Maltsev|Miles Wood
#13|Reilly Walsh|D|2017 #81|Proctor Academy (USHS)/Chicago Steel (USHL)|43.04%|Scott Wedgewood|Ryan Kujawinski
#14|Nathan Bastian|RW|2016 #42|Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)|57.53%|Brandon Gignac|Seth Helgeson
#15|Brandon Gignac|C|2016 #70|Shawnigan Cataractes (QMJHL)|61.82%|Joey Anderson|Kerfoot/Kalinin|
#16|Fabian Zetterlund|RW|2017 #63|Farjestad BK J20 (SuperElite/SHL)|55.36%|Colton White|Kerfoot/Kalinin|
#17|Jesper Bratt|W|2016 #162|AIK (Allsvenkan)|69.23%|Vojtech Mozik|Vojtech Mozik|
#18|Marian Studenic|RW|2017 #150|Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)|31.03%|Yegor Rykov|Graham Black
#19|Mikhail Maltsev|C|2016 #112|SKA-Neva St. Petersburg (VHL)|26.23%|Blake Coleman|Blake Pietila
#20||||||Reece Scarlett|Maxime Clermont|

[/table]

Please remember to vote for who you want to add to the poll next. Most votes gets included in the next poll

[table="head;width=150]Eligible Prospects
Yegor Zaitsev
Matthew Hellickson
Evan Cormier
Josh Jacobs
J.D. Dudek
Brandon Baddock
Ryan Kujawinski
[/table]

Click to read more...

 

[R8Devs]

Davies or Senn. though i wouldn't be surprised if Chainey is in the top 20 next year -- he's still only 17.

 

[Zippy316]

Davies or Senn. though i wouldn't be surprised if Chainey is in the top 20 next year -- he's still only 17.

Davies, Talvitie, Sissons, and Senn all have the ability to surge up the rankings by next year. Good chance the top 5 + Wood all graduate as well.

 

[R8Devs]

Davies, Talvitie, Sissons, and Senn all have the ability to surge up the rankings by next year. Good chance the top 5 + Wood all graduate as well.

or forgotten like Evan Cormier. i don't think anyone even mentioned him lol

 

[Caser]

Really liked Talvitie at the U18 WJC and heard that he has been good this summer too.

Add Zaitsev.

 

[Beastdog75]

Voted for White. Are we still adding players? If so I pick Jacobs.

 

[Devils Dominion]

or forgotten like Evan Cormier. i don't think anyone even mentioned him lol

For good reason.
He's not good.

I voted for The Finn.
He should have gone ahead of Maltsev.

 

[RememberTheName]

Aarne
Add Zaitsev

 

[Devils Dominion]

Voted for White. Are we still adding players? If so I pick Jacobs.

It's a Top 20 poll.

Jacobs doesn't make the cut.

 

[Zippy316]

It's a Top 20 poll.

Jacobs doesn't make the cut.

Going to do a pick 5 21-25 as well after this one.

 

[None Shall Pass]

Aarne!

 

[AfroThunder396]

I think this is a good time to talk about potential risers and who we think will have the best seasons next year.

Gignac, Bratt, and Studenic all seem primed to have breakout seasons.

Talvitie seems like a major darkhorse candidate. Same with Walsh.

I'd like to see Bastian, Pop, and Blackwood really find some consistency and get to the level their talent says they should be at.

 

[Cheddabombs]

I think this is a good time to talk about potential risers and who we think will have the best seasons next year.

Gignac, Bratt, and Studenic all seem primed to have breakout seasons.

Talvitie seems like a major darkhorse candidate. Same with Walsh.

I'd like to see Bastian, Pop, and Blackwood really find some consistency and get to the level their talent says they should be at.

There could be quite a few that have breakout years, which is very exciting. I agree with the ones you said and I'll throw in the Swedes Boqvist and Zetterlund in there as well. I think it's much more difficult for us, as fans who don't get to see those international players on a regular basis, to judge how their seasons go but they could be primed to take a step forward.

And while I agree on Blackwood I think he did find some consistency last season as he started out pretty miserably but truly picked up his play in the back half of the year and into the playoffs.

My not so bold prediction would be that Big Poppy has himself a whale of a year and puts himself into our top 5 for next year's rankings.

 

[Zippy316]

So far the change from last year to this year:

[table="head;width=350]Rank|Player|Change
#1|Nico Hischier|NR
#2|Mike McLeod| 0
#3|Steven Santini| 0
#4|John Quenneville| 0
#5|Blake Speers|+4
#6|Yegor Rykov|+12
#T-7|Mackenzie Blackwood| 0
#T-7|Jesper Boqvist|NR
#9|Joey Anderson|+6
#10|Miles Wood|-3
#11|Mirco Mueller|NR
#12|Nikita Popugayev|NR
#13|Reilly Walsh|NR
#14|Nathan Bastian|-4
#15|Brandon Gignac|-1
#16|Fabian Zetterlund|NR
#17|Jesper Bratt|+3*
#18|Marian Studenic|NR
#19|Mikhail Maltsev|-7[/table]

Rykov the biggest riser. Maltsev the biggest faller.

 

[JimEIV]

So far the change from last year to this year:

[table="head;width=350]Rank|Player|Change
#1|Nico Hischier|NR
#2|Mike McLeod| 0
#3|Steven Santini| 0
#4|John Quenneville| 0
#5|Blake Speers|+4
#6|Yegor Rykov|+12
#T-7|Mackenzie Blackwood| 0
#T-7|Jesper Boqvist|NR
#9|Joey Anderson|+6
#10|Miles Wood|-3
#11|Mirco Mueller|NR
#12|Nikita Popugayev|NR
#13|Reilly Walsh|NR
#14|Nathan Bastian|-4
#15|Brandon Gignac|-1
#16|Fabian Zetterlund|NR
#17|Jesper Bratt|+3*
#18|Marian Studenic|NR
#19|Mikhail Maltsev|-7[/table]

Rykov the biggest riser. Maltsev the biggest faller.

Some observations...

We wacked the hell out of Bastian for a rough season but not Blackwood at all. Blackwood's season was extremely rocky. Sure he was young and has potential but can't the excuse of injury be made for Bastian as well? Seems biased to me.

1. Wood -3 and Speers +4 really makes no sense at all. Speers is really way too high.

2. Mueller at #11 is insane, he's really accomplished nothing at all...His resume currently is NOT better than Seth Helgeson's would've been about this time last year. Potential is nice but there should be some shred of evidence of that potential shouldn't there be?

 

[Cheddabombs]

Some observations...

We wacked the hell out of Bastian for a rough season but not Blackwood at all. Blackwood's season was extremely rocky. Sure he was young and has potential but can't the excuse of injury be made for Bastian as well? Seems biased to me.

1. Wood -3 and Speers +4 really makes no sense at all. Speers is really way too high.

2. Mueller at #11 is insane, he's really accomplished nothing at all...He's resume currently is NOT better than Seth Helgeson's would've been about this time last year. Potential is nice but there should be some shred of evidence of that potential shouldn't there be?

Big difference between Bastian and Blackwood is one made the jump to the pros and one remained in juniors. It should have been expected that Blackwood would see some struggles this past season, jumping to the AHL as such a young goalie is really tough. But for all his early season struggles he did turn it around in the 2nd half and carried that over into a very good, albeit short, playoff run. Whereas Bastian remained in juniors and he should have taken a step forward but didn't. He may have even taken a step back in some people's eyes. This is an apples to oranges comparison though and also at the end of the day, Blackwood has the higher potential of the two.

I kind of agree with the Wood/Speers thing. And Mueller at #11 is anything but insane lol. After him there are a bunch of guys who may never touch NHL ice. And whether it's right or wrong he is penciled into a roster spot for us this season. You're either underselling Mueller or overselling prospects that are projects at best.

 

[Triumph]

Blackwood played in the pros and got better as the season went along. That's why he didn't 'get whacked'.

Mueller at 11 seems bad to me as well but comparing him to Seth Helgeson is nuts. Helgeson was still in college when he was Mueller's age right now.

 

[My3Sons]

We only have limited knowledge about the injuries players suffer. Hard to say how much Bastian's injury played a role in a season where he did not appear to progress. Recall JQ's season where he was derailed by a concussion and apparently wasn't really 100% until the playoffs - even though doctors had cleared him to play. Black Wood's season seemed to be what you'd expect it to have been. I could see him take a nice step forward this year if the team in front of him is stable.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Blackwood played in the pros and got better as the season went along. That's why he didn't 'get whacked'.

Mueller at 11 seems bad to me as well but comparing him to Seth Helgeson is nuts. Helgeson was still in college when he was Mueller's age right now.

Why is Mueller at 11 so bad? Am I missing something? Who should be ahead of him on that list?

 

[Zippy316]

Some observations...

We wacked the hell out of Bastian for a rough season but not Blackwood at all. Blackwood's season was extremely rocky. Sure he was young and has potential but can't the excuse of injury be made for Bastian as well? Seems biased to me.

1. Wood -3 and Speers +4 really makes no sense at all. Speers is really way too high.

2. Mueller at #11 is insane, he's really accomplished nothing at all...His resume currently is NOT better than Seth Helgeson's would've been about this time last year. Potential is nice but there should be some shred of evidence of that potential shouldn't there be?

Bastian's season number-wise was underwhelming, you'd like to see him sustain a point-per-game pace at the very least. His playoffs weren't spectacular either. Blackwood had a rough start (which is to be expected for a 19 year old thrusted into a starting role unexpectedly) but he rebounded and finished the year very strong.

I'd agree Speers is a bit high. I'd have Wood a couple spots higher, but I understand the reasoning behind where he is.

Mueller is a former #18th overall who should be NHL-ready. May only be a bottom-four LD, but there's a good chance everyone behind him doesn't even make it there.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I think Speers got ranked higher than he should have, he's a pretty safe bet to be an NHL player but I don't think his ceiling is anything higher than the 3rd line. I don't understand the rationale for ranking him ahead of Anderson who had a killer season as a freshman, or Boqvist who has a lot more raw talent than he does.

Blackwood I'm willing to cut more slack to because he was playing in a professional league at 20 and goaltenders have very unorthodox development paths.

 

[HBK27]

Speers is a bit high, but I think 5-10 are all interchangable. The fact that he stuck with the team last year for a few games at 19 certainly bumped him up a bit.

Mueller I think is that high because of what Shero gave up to get him and the fact that he has a spot on the team this year as a result.

 

[Triumph]

Why is Mueller at 11 so bad? Am I missing something? Who should be ahead of him on that list?

Guys with unimpressive draft year +4s in the AHL shouldn't be ranked so high. I know what the Devils gave up to get him and I don't really care, that doesn't make him a better player - he's likely a fringe NHLer with an outside shot at being a 2nd pairing guy. So guys like Popugaev and Walsh, who are unlikely to play as many games in the NHL as Mueller have already, still in my mind have a better shot at being impact NHLers. The criteria I try to use for lists like this is would I trade this guy for that guy, and I wouldn't trade Popugaev or Walsh for Mueller, even though most times Mueller ends up the better player.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Why is Mueller at 11 so bad? Am I missing something? Who should be ahead of him on that list?

He's been unable to crack the NHL thus far.

 

[JimEIV]

Blackwood played in the pros and got better as the season went along. That's why he didn't 'get whacked'.

Mueller at 11 seems bad to me as well but comparing him to Seth Helgeson is nuts. Helgeson was still in college when he was Mueller's age right now.

I didn't really compare him to Seth Helgeson...I was more saying his accomplishments/resume were about the same, as in 3 non-eventful AHL season with some NHL games sprinkled.

Sure he is younger, sure he is a better prospect...And in the few clips I've seen of him he is already a better player...Perhaps it was a bad analogy but he hasn't accomplished anything - It was more meant that you can take any random D prospect in the AHL who has had some spot duty in the NHL and he has no better pedigree than anyone.